Alsco 300 (Kentucky)

(Redirected from Meijer 300)

The Alsco 300 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, United States. The distance of the race was 300 miles (482.803 km).

Alsco 300
NASCAR Xfinity Series
VenueKentucky Speedway
LocationSparta, Kentucky, United States
Corporate sponsorAlsco
First race2001
Last race2020
Distance300 miles (480 km)
Laps200 (Stage 1: 45 Stage 2: 45 Stage 3: 110)
Previous namesOutback Steakhouse 300 (2001)
Kroger 300 (2002)
Meijer 300 (2003–2010)
Feed the Children 300 (2011–2013)
John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 presented by Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over (2014)
Kentucky 300 (2015)
Most wins (driver)Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Busch (3)
Most wins (team)Joe Gibbs Racing (6)
Most wins (manufacturer)Ford (7)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Turns4

History

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Kentucky Speedway, opened in 2000 by Jerry Carrol, held its first Busch Series race in 2001. Brad Paisley sang the National Anthem, and then-Cincinnati Bengals player Corey Dillon gave the command to start engines. This race saw Travis Kvapil go upside down after clipping Rich Bickle's No. 59 car off of Turn 2, and the car slid all the way down the backstretch in the turn three grass. Kevin Harvick won the inaugural event.

Hypermarket chain Meijer was the race's sponsor since 2003 after previous sponsorship from Outback Steakhouse and Kroger. Nabisco, through its Oreo and Ritz brands, had been an associate sponsor since the 2002 race. For 2011, the race was sponsored by the Nonprofit organization Feed The Children. Starting in 2016, the race was sponsored by Alsco.[1] In 2017, Alsco signed a multi-year agreement to continue being the sponsor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series race.[2] Alsco is one of only two companies to serve as entitlement sponsor of multiple Xfinity Series events. Each year Alsco provides its sponsorship partners, employees, customer and prospects with over 1,500 tickets to the race.[3]

The race received a doubleheader in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The second race, the Shady Rays 200, was held the day before the Alsco 300.[5]

Kentucky was removed from the 2021 Xfinity schedule.[6]

David Gilliland won here for an underfunded team in 2006 with 8 starts in his résumé. This win gave him the ride in the 38 car in mid-2006, replacing Elliott Sadler in the 38 car. Joey Logano is the first repeat winner, winning three straight years from 2008 to 2010. Also, four different drivers have won at Kentucky Speedway to claim their first Nationwide Series win. David Gilliland (2006), Stephen Leicht (2007), Joey Logano (2008), and Austin Dillon (2012).

Past winners

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Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
2001 June 16 2 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 2:31:47 118.59
2002 June 15/16* 92 Todd Bodine Herzog Motorsports Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 2:21:33 127.164
2003 June 14 25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 200 300 (482.803) 2:12:14 136.123
2004 June 19 5 Kyle Busch Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 2:22:08 126.642
2005 June 18 60 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford 200 300 (482.803) 2:33:42 117.111
2006 June 17 84 David Gilliland Clay Andrews Racing Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 2:35:10 116.004
2007 June 16 90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 300 (482.803) 2:32:56 117.698
2008 June 14 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 2:12:50 135.508
2009 June 13 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 2:20:51 127.796
2010 June 12 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 2:36:08 115.286
2011 July 8 22 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 200 300 (482.803) 2:10.03 138.408
2012 June 29 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:58:42 151.643
2013 June 28 22 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 170* 255 (410.382) 1:56:39 131.162
2014 June 27 5 Kevin Harvick JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 2:15:33 132.792
2015 July 10 22 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 200 300 (482.803) 2:12:18 136.054
2016 July 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 201* 301.5 (485.217) 2:05:24 144:258
2017 July 8* 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 2:30:56 119.258
2018 July 13 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 2:16:29 131.884
2019 July 12 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Ford 200 300 (482.803) 2:09:05 139.445
2020 July 10 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 200 300 (482.803) 2:13:25 134.916
  • 2002: Race started on Saturday night but was finished on Sunday afternoon due to rain.
  • 2013: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 2016: Race extended due to overtime.
  • 2017: Race postponed from Friday night to Saturday afternoon due to severe weather.

Multiple winners (drivers)

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# Wins Driver Years Won
3 Joey Logano 2008, 2009, 2010
Brad Keselowski 2011, 2013, 2015
Kyle Busch 2004, 2016, 2017
2 Kevin Harvick 2001, 2014

Multiple winners (teams)

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# Wins Team Years Won
6 Joe Gibbs Racing 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018
4 Team Penske 2011, 2013, 2015, 2020
2 Richard Childress Racing 2001, 2012

Manufacturer wins

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# Wins Make Years Won
7   Ford 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2020
6   Chevrolet 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2014
  Toyota 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018
1   Dodge 2011

Notable races

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  • 2008: When Joey Logano won, he became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history, at 18 years old, 21 days, shattering Casey Atwood's record (18 years, 313 days) that stood since 1999.
  • 2013: Rain struck Sparta as Feed the Children 300 ending short and the Quaker State 400 was moved to Sunday afternoon. Brad Keselowski won the rain-shortened race and would go on to get wrecked on Sunday as Kurt Busch turned into Keselowski. This may have started the Kurt Busch vs. Keselowski rivalry that would go on to the 2014 5-hour Energy 400.
  • 2014: Brad Keselowski overcame a speeding penalty to get a top 5 finish. Kevin Harvick held off a charging Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

References

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  1. ^ "New sponsor for KY Speedway race". WLW. January 21, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Alsco Extends Partnership with Kentucky Speedway | News | Fan Info | Kentucky Speedway". www.kentuckyspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-05.
  3. ^ "Alsco Celebrates Third Consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway | News | Fan Info | Kentucky Speedway". Archived from the original on 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  4. ^ Farmer, Keith (June 4, 2020). "Quaker State rescheduled, adds Xfinity races". WLEX-TV. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Shady Rays to sponsor XFINITY race at Kentucky Speedway". Kentucky Speedway (Press release). Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Crandall, Kelly (October 30, 2020). "33 races on tap for 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series". Racer. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
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